Royal Caribbean's Star of the Seas to finally sail in August — destination, departure date, and bookings nearly full

It takes time to plan the ultimate vacation, particularly for Royal Caribbean enthusiasts who circle their calendars the minute a new ship is available for reservation. But for those willing to wait to be the first to board the Star of the Seas, the cruise company's highly anticipated new Icon Class vessel, things haven't exactly gone according to plan, as per a report.

While, Royal Caribbean has continually rescheduled the ship's launch schedule, it now added multiple short showcase sailings before the inaugural cruise, according to The Street.

A rocky ride to break in

In December 2023, when reservations became available for the Star of the Seas, enthusiasts did not hesitate to reserve places on what was then advertised as the inaugural official sailing, a seven-night voyage that would depart on August 17, 2025, as per the report.


But Royal Caribbean subsequently postponed the maiden voyage for two weeks, attributing it to a delay in the delivery of the ship and moving the inaugural cruise to August 31, according to The Street.

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Showcase Sailings Stir Mixed Emotions

Instead of cancelling the original August 17 departure, Royal Caribbean introduced two shorter "showcase sailings" to precede it, as per The Street. For cruisers who had missed out on the initial booking, the news was a pleasant surprise, but for those who had carefully planned their holidays around being the first on board, it left them scrambling, according to the report.

A few of the guests opted to transfer their reservations to the new earlier departures, hoping to still be aboard first, as per The Street. Royal Caribbean even added another short showcase sailing on the ship departing on August 20, according to the report.

The cruise line said, “To officially kick off our inaugural season, we have added in an additional 4-Night Star Showcase Cruise to Perfect Day [at CocoCay] on August 16, 2025, because we simply can’t wait to debut the world’s best family vacation,” quoted The Street.

August 31 Remains the Official Maiden Voyage

According to the report, the August 31 Star of the Seas cruise will still be the first full-length sailing and will be considered the inaugural voyage, there will be a total of four short showcase sailings happening before it.

FAQs

What are “showcase sailings”?
They’re shorter preview cruises added before the main inaugural voyage, giving guests a chance to experience the ship early.

How many showcase sailings are there now?
There are now four short showcase sailings before the August 31 cruise.